It’s not nearly often enough that we hear about startup ideas that address global hunger, fuel inefficiency, or support the deaf and blind.

This week, Intel threw an event to do just that — to uncover these ideas from research labs, and provide them with funds for launch in the global market. This is the eighth time that the computing device maker has hosted the global business plan competition. This year, it was held at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and the finalists received $100,000.

The winner?

Greenway Grameen Infra (GGI), a team from India that produces efficient, biomass-based cooking solutions to replace indoor open fires and traditional mud stoves.

The flagship product is the Greenway Smart Stove, which incorporates a unique air-flow generator to provide clean and efficient combustion, saving up to 65 percent of fuel and resulting in a 70 percent reduction in smoke. The team piloted the stove in India; sales topped 12,000 units through rural retail outlets. The team received $50,000 from Intel’s Foundation.

“The Intel Global Challenge inspires and rewards great entrepreneurs who bring the best science and technology innovations from universities around the world to market for the benefit of us all,” said Andre Marquis, executive director, Lester Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at UC Berkeley. Marquis said it has bolstered the school’s efforts to build a network of entrepreneurs around the world.

The runners up include Dreambender, an Indonesia-based startup that has developed an innovative sign language system; it uses Microsoft’s Kinect as a motion sensor, enabling users to practice gestures based on video examples until they have mastered them. ISkyTracker, a Russian technology, enables people to connect to the Internet anywhere. Its system provides automatic searches for telecommunication satellites.

]]>0Does your startup do good? Intel competition rewards social entrepreneurshipSparkLabs sets out to ignite flame of Korean startup communityhttp://venturebeat.com/2012/07/30/sparklabs-sets-out-to-ignite-flame-of-korean-startup-community/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/07/30/sparklabs-sets-out-to-ignite-flame-of-korean-startup-community/#commentsTue, 31 Jul 2012 05:00:48 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=499841Korean startup accelerator SparkLabs launched today, lighting the way for Korea’s aspiring entrepreneurs to enter the international technology community. The program will follow the example of prestigious US accelerators like Y-Combinator, TechStars, and 500 Startups, which are founded on a mentorship model. SparkLabs participants will have access to an elite and knowledgable network where they can solicit […]
]]>Korean startup accelerator SparkLabs launched today, lighting the way for Korea’s aspiring entrepreneurs to enter the international technology community.

The program will follow the example of prestigious US accelerators like Y-Combinator, TechStars, and 500 Startups, which are founded on a mentorship model. SparkLabs participants will have access to an elite and knowledgable network where they can solicit valuable guidance, connections, and resources.

Mentors include angel investor Mark Cuban, VP at Google Vint Cerf, Managing Partner of SV Angel David Lee, and a host of other illustrious figures on the technology scene. SparkLabs will also offer funding and office space, as well as English language education and legal advice.

While Korea has a thriving technology scene, a majority of the promising young talent heads to large companies like LG, Samsung, or Hyundai. After the dotcom bust, many Koreans were hesitant about starting companies and thus the startup scene is just beginning to emerge.

“The timing is just right,” said founder Bernard Moon, who is also a contributing author for VentureBeat. “Koreans are traditionally focused on educational achievement, security, and working for big name companies. Now there is a growing awareness of the world outside Korea. We want to provide connectivity for young entrepreneurs and support globally minded companies.”

Founders Moon, Hanjoo Lee, and James Kim are all entrepreneurs who have experienced first hand the challenges of building companies, making connections, raising venture capital, and scaling products. SparkLabs aims to promote a culture of innovation in Korea while also giving fledgling businesses the tools to succeed.

The accelerator will focus on companies in the Internet, gaming, mobile, commerce, and digital media sectors. It is part of the Global Accelerator Network which consists of 50 top startup accelerators from around the world. SparkLabs is the first member of the network in Korea. It has also partnered with DEMO and DEMO China to fast track the application process for its member companies.

Starting today, Google is partnering up with Startup Weekend, an organization focused on fostering entrepreneurship, to host technical training bootcamps for aspiring entrepreneurs across the globe.

Startup Weekend is known for its 54-hour startup events, similar to hackathons, where a group of people come together, brainstorm a product or service idea, and start building it right then and there. The Google bootcamps will take place in advance of the hackathons to better equip participants with technical skills, such as coding for the Google App Engine.

Sometimes Startup Weekend events produce a really promising idea, which then grows into an actual company. But the introduction of Google brings more resources to the startup table.

“Google was once a startup in a garage,” said Mary Himinkool, head of global entrepreneurship outreach for Google in an official blog post, “and Google Ventures is a testament to our ongoing commitment to entrepreneurialism.”

Google’s role in the partnership is to provide training on Google products and services that can be used for developing business ideas. These training sessions will be rolled out over the next several months in a variety of cities across the country. You can find out if Google is visiting your city here. The company is also giving Startup Weekend participants access to its Google Technology User Groups (GTUG), so they can learn from developers already integrated into the Google community. GTUG is an open group where developers learn about any of Google’s technologies and share tips and tricks with each other. Members are potential founders too, and will benefit from a percentage off of all Startup Weekend events.